Twitter Should Have a News Portal like Sina Weibo

Twitter is already a news network. But with so much information, it isn’t quite digestible for users. Co-founder, Evan Williams noted this problem too. Perhaps Twitter could get some inspiration from China based Sina Weibo’s online news portal. It isn’t exactly a newspaper but more of a news portal powered by users.

The design itself looks like an online newspaper with dates, featured headlines and 3 main categories – (1) on-the-spot news, (2) gossips, (3) humor. Sina Weibo‘s on-the-spot news helps users to receive breaking updates without the need for it to be viral. Past incidents have proven that microblogs are among the first platforms to receive breaking news – Mumbai bombing, Iran Elections etc. With on-the-spot news, receiving breaking updates are so much more convenient and clutter free.

Well, the service does resemble Paper.li, a blogging service which organizes links shared on Twitter and Facebook into a newspaper-style format. But Sina Weibo’s newspaper is run by an algorithm which continuously tracks popular news shared within the community. News updates are usually picked up from influential users which also means new users don’t really stand a chance to enjoy the limelight. The huge influence gap between the top and new users could deter newcomers from joining the service. That’s the only problem identified. Besides news, Sina Weibo’s news site also features entertaining images shared by its users. The convenience provided is deeply appreciated by users.

“Weibo news is a convenient portal for us to learn what’s happening within the community quickly,” said Betty Liu, a Weibo user.

“It is also easy to read and comment on the site. Reading news doesn’t require you to leave the page. You can click on the news and comment on it directly. It’s really simple,” she added.

That’s innovation on Sina Weibo’s part. While Twitter is the micro-blog originator, Sina Weibo has evolved to provide key services for the local market. It’s a small innovation but still deserves credit. Twitter should really consider a similar news portal service before information overload becomes a real hassle for users.